Testing in the Boeing LCAT Arc-Jet Facility in Support of NASA Hypersonic Material Development

NASA Langley Research Center, Hypersonic Technology Project has developed potential candidate material systems for application on hypersonic reusable vehicles and ground testing is required to validate the materials in a relevant environment. During flight, the material systems will be exposed to high temperatures and pressures for which an arc-jet tunnel is the only viable ground test facility capable of producing the required test conditions to adequately assess the viability and survivability of the candidate material systems.

There are only two major arc-jet test facilities located in the United States which provide a large flow-field adequate to test larger models, larger than 2-inches wide, and can perform the full range of the required testing (SGM, MACH, and LECC). These two facilities are: 1) the Arnold Engineering Development facility (AEDC), located in Tullahoma, TN and 2) the Boeing Large Core Arc Tunnel (LCAT) located in St. Louis, MO. The first facility (AEDC) is a government facility, and other than the Boeing LCAT, there are no other commercial arcjet facilities in the United States capable of conducting the required testing. This proposed new task for ground testing potential candidate material systems for application on hypersonic vehicles builds upon extensive past efforts of testing conducted in the Boeing LCAT facility. Therefore, it has been determined Boeing is the only source capable of meeting this requirement. The attached JEFOP gives justification for utilizing Boeing as the sole source to perform the Hypersonic LCAT requirement.